Congress first passed the Iran Sanctions Act in 1996 and has extended it several times since then. WASHINGTON (AP) " A group of Senate Democrats is pushing for the renewal of a decades-old law that allows the United States to hit companies with economic sanctions for doing business with Iran. The group of lawmakers opposed last year's landmark international nuclear deal with Iran. Obama administration officials have urged Congress to wait and see how the nuclear deal proceeds before imposing additional measures to reprimand Tehran. In a statement Friday, the lawmakers announced legislation to extend the Iran Sanctions Act by 10 years so the U.S. can punish the country should it fail to live up to the terms of the milestone nuclear deal.

Source: New Zealand Herald July 15, 2016 20:26 UTC